ABBATH "Outstrider"

ABBATH

“Outstrider”

First off, I’m shocked by the nature of the promo Season of Mist has provided for this major release. The song order is wildly out of whack and one of the songs appears twice. I would expect better from one of the better labels of the metal underground.

Because of the song order confusion, the flow of the album is way out of joint. I’ve tried to play it in the order intended. Overcoming that hiccup, “Outstrider” is pretty much the album we expect and demand from one of extreme metal’s more memorable characters. It carries on nicely from the first self-titled ABBATH disk and should appeal to any fans of the man’s work with IMMORTAL as well. Two of the best tracks here are the shortest and fastest; “Bridge of Spasms” is a nuclear warhead of patented ABBATHian riffing and is something that could have been on an early IMMORTAL album. “Pace Till Death” is a blasting and bludgeoning BATHORY cover that ends ( or should end...who knows?) the record on a brutal note.

We also have tunes that are more complex and thoughtful than what we’re used to, without totally abandoning the ABBATH sound. Opener “Calm In Ire”(Of Hurricane) is a good example as it takes a while to build.  The title track and “Harvest Pyre” are two more of the well composed and more melodic songs. Two of my favorites are “Scythewinder” and “The Artifex”, which are kind of in between the fast and furious and the more atmospheric tunes. ABBATH remains the riff-master...he has conjured up some doozies in these cuts.

“Hecate” and “Land of Khem” to me just kind of seemed to fill up space on the record, but they are not bad in a cringeworthy way. The whole album is 100% what you would expect and in this case, no surprises is a good thing. This will satisfy all the faithful.

SEASON OF MIST

ABBATH